Trump administration sues Colorado over firearm ammunition magazine limit

2026-05-06 22:48:04 UTC / Reuters

By Steve Gorman

May 6, 2026 10:48 PM UTC Updated 58 mins ago

节点运行失败

Illegal high-capacity magazines and an assault rifle along with multiple guns, ammunition are seen in this Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) photo in Long Beach, California, U.S., released on August 21, 2019. Courtesy LBPD/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Colorado banned magazines holding more than 15 rounds in 2013
• US Justice Department says restriction violates Second Amendment
• Lawsuit cites Supreme Court ruling on guns in lawful common use
• Large-capacity ban enacted after Aurora movie theater shooting

May 6 (Reuters) – The Trump administration sued Colorado on Wednesday seeking to strike down a 13-year-old state ban ‌on large-capacity firearm ammunition magazines, those allowing more than 15 bullets to be fired in rapid succession without the need to re-load.

The lawsuit claims that Colorado’s restriction on gun magazines, enacted in 2013 in the wake of a mass shooting that killed 12 ​people and wounded 58 others inside an Aurora movie theater, infringes on the rights to own and ​bear arms under the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue

A federal appeals court in 2016 ordered ⁠dismissal of a similar case brought by a group of county sheriffs, gun shops, outfitters and shooting ranges ​challenging the ban on large-capacity magazines and a measure requiring universal background checks for gun buyers.

In that case, a ​three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to bring their suit because they failed to demonstrate that they would have been personally harmed by the laws.

Wednesday’s Department of Justice complaint cites the 2008 U.S. ​Supreme Court decision from a landmark case known as the District of Columbia v. Heller, ruling that the ​Second Amendment protects the rights of law-abiding citizens to possess guns in common use for lawful purposes.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue

The 11-page DOJ suit, initiated ‌by its ⁠civil rights division, argues that magazines holding more than 15 rounds come standard with many of the most popular firearms in the U.S., including AR-15-style rifles and some semi-automatic pistols.

“The number of lawfully owned semi-automatic firearms in the United States that utilize a magazine like the ones banned by the state is in the tens of ​millions,” the suit says. Thus, ​outlawing large-capacity magazines in ⁠effect restricts individuals’ rights to own weapons “in common use.”

It adds that such weapons are “used for multiple lawful purposes,” such as recreational target shooting, collecting and self-defense. The lawsuit ​seeks a court order barring enforcement of the Colorado statute.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser ​issued a ⁠statement vowing to defend the state’s gun-safety measures, and saying the lawsuit “turns the mission of the DOJ’s civil rights division on its head.”

“Large-capacity magazine laws are responsible policies that satisfy Second Amendment protections, decrease impacts of mass shootings and save ⁠lives,” ​Weiser said. “The state has a duty to protect Colorado residents from gun ​violence.”

The DOJ complaint against Colorado’s large-capacity magazine ban came a day after the department filed a separate lawsuit challenging a long-standing Denver city ​ordinance banning semi-automatic rifles it defines as assault weapons.

Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Stephen Coates

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

What Israel wants from an Iran peace deal: No enrichment, missile limits and strict enforcement

2026-05-06T16:30:45-04:00 / Fox News

Analysts say Jerusalem wants enrichment halted, missiles restricted, proxy funding cut and no ‘sunset clauses’

By Efrat Lachter Fox News

Published May 6, 2026 4:30pm EDT

Iranians fear ‘open season’ on themselves by hands of regime, says Middle East expert

Middle East Institute associate fellow Dr. Nazee Moinian analyzes Iran’s current political and military landscape after U.S. military action on ‘The Story.’

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Listen to this article

6 min

As President Donald Trump signals progress toward a possible agreement with Iran, Israeli officials and analysts increasingly are outlining what Jerusalem believes any deal must include to prevent Tehran from rebuilding its military and regional power.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel and the United States remain in “full coordination” as negotiations continue.

“We share common objectives, and the most important objective is the removal of the enriched material from Iran, all the enriched material, and the dismantling of Iran’s enrichment capabilities,” Netanyahu said at the opening of a security cabinet meeting.

US AND IRAN CLASH OVER URANIUM ENRICHMENT AS NUCLEAR TALKS RESUME IN ROME

Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran, on April 29, 2024.(Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday.

At the same time, Trump warned that if negotiations fail, “we’ll have to go a big step further.”

For Israel, the question is not simply whether the war ends, but whether Iran emerges from negotiations weakened or repositioned to rebuild. Israeli officials fear a weak agreement could allow Tehran to preserve strategic capabilities, regain economic breathing room and eventually restore the regional network of armed groups that threatened Israel before the war. Jerusalem is also seeking guarantees that any future deal preserves military leverage and freedom of action if Iran violates its commitments.

Against that backdrop, Israeli analysts say Jerusalem’s red lines focus on four core areas: dismantling Iran’s enrichment infrastructure, restricting its ballistic missile program, preventing Tehran from rebuilding Hezbollah and Hamas, and ensuring the regime does not gain political legitimacy or strategic relief from the negotiations.

No enrichment, no sunsets

On the nuclear issue, former Israeli National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror said Israel’s position remains uncompromising.

“Weaponized uranium must leave Iran,” Amidror said. “The Iranians must not be allowed to enrich uranium.”

Israeli journalist and commentator Nadav Eyal agreed, adding that Israel is seeking a much stricter framework than previous agreements.

“Israel wants Iran to stop enrichment for as long as possible and for the enriched material to leave Iran,” Eyal said, adding that Jerusalem is looking for “an arms control agreement that would be extensive and robust.”

An unclassified image released by U.S. Central Command showing strikes on Iran.(U.S. Central Command/Reuters)

Avner Golov, vice president of the Mind Israel think tank, told Fox News Digital that Israel also wants Iran’s underground nuclear infrastructure dismantled entirely.

“In the nuclear arena, what matters is the removal of the enriched material, the destruction of the underground facilities, including those still being built, and a prohibition on new sites,” Golov said.

Golov also warned against “sunset clauses” that would allow restrictions to expire after several years.

“There must be an agreement without sunsets,” he said, calling for “unprecedented monitoring and supervision, anywhere, under any conditions and not dependent on Iranian approval.”

Jonathan Ruhe, Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) fellow for American strategy, told Fox News Digital, “Ultimately the United States and Israel should have strongly similar redlines for an acceptable deal,” he said, including “shutting down Iran’s nuclear weapons program completely, permanently and verifiably.”

Ruhe said that goes beyond Iran handing over highly enriched uranium and includes shutting down remaining enrichment-related facilities at Pickaxe and Isfahan.

[UN’S ATOMIC AGENCY’S IRAN POLICY GETS MIXED REVIEWS FROM EXPERTS AFTER US-ISRAEL ‘OBLITERATE’ NUCLEAR SITES]

President Donald Trump speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv on Oct. 13, 2025.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Missiles seen as equal threat

Alongside the nuclear issue, Israeli analysts say Iran’s ballistic missile program has become equally central to Israel’s security concerns.

“One of the key questions is whether there will be any sort of limitation on the ballistic missile program of the Iranians,” Eyal said. “Israel sees this as no less of an existential threat than the nuclear issue.”

Amidror warned that without missile restrictions, the threat could eventually extend beyond Israel and Europe.

“If there are no restrictions on the missile program, then missiles that today can reach half of Europe will, within five to 10 years, be able to reach the United States,” he warned.

Golov argued that a nuclear-only agreement would leave Iran free to rebuild a missile shield protecting a future nuclear breakout.

“A deal that focuses only on the nuclear program would allow the Iranians to produce thousands of missiles and create a protective shield around their nuclear program.”

Ruhe similarly said limiting Iran’s missile arsenal must include preventing Iran from rebuilding production capabilities damaged during the war.

[IRAN DRAWS MISSILE RED LINE AS ANALYSTS WARN TEHRAN IS STALLING US TALKS]

Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system intercepts projectiles over Tel Aviv on Feb. 28, 2026, amid retaliatory missile barrages from Iran targeting Gulf states and Israel.(Jack Guez/AFP)

Hamas, Hezbollah and the proxies question

Another major Israeli concern is that sanctions relief or renewed trade could funnel money back to Iran’s regional proxies.

“Israel is demanding that the Islamic Republic isolate itself from involvement with Lebanon and Gaza and stop supporting armed groups that operate against Israel,” Eyal said.

“For Israel, it is a material issue that the money injected into Iran will not be used to rebuild the proxies in the region,” he added.

Amidror said Iran’s ability to support Hezbollah and Hamas has already been weakened by the collapse of regional supply routes.

“The Iranians cannot effectively support the proxies because there is no longer a land bridge from Iran to Syria,” he said, but warned that if negotiations leave the impression that Washington backed down, Iran’s regional proxies could emerge stronger even after the war.

No ‘victory image’ for Tehran

Ruhe similarly argued that Israel wants to avoid any agreement that restores legitimacy to the Iranian regime without fundamentally weakening it.

“Avoiding anything that legitimates Iran’s regime and abandons the Iranian people” is critical, Ruhe said, including “giving guarantees against future attacks or compensating Tehran for wartime damages.”

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP]

Satellite imagery shows reinforcement efforts at the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site, a heavily fortified, deep underground tunnel complex near Iran’s Natanz enrichment site.(Vantor/Handout via Reuters)

Ruhe warned that for Israel, a “bad deal” is ultimately any agreement that restrains Israel’s future freedom of action against Iran and its proxies.

“This is one big reason Iran wants to ensnare the Trump administration in open-ended negotiations that sideline military options and create daylight between Washington and Jerusalem,” Ruhe said.

Efrat Lachter is a foreign correspondent for Fox News Digital covering international affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories can be sent to efrat.lachter@fox.com.

Judge releases purported Jeffrey Epstein suicide note

Updated May 6, 2026, 7:36 PM ET / CNN

By Dan Berman

A federal judge unsealed a purported suicide note from Jeffrey Epstein on Wednesday.

The unverified and undated document was placed on the court docket in the case of a former cellmate of the late convicted sex offender who said he had found the note.

The note — which is not signed — reads, in part:

“They investigated me for month – found NOTHING!!!

“It is a treat to be able to chose ones time to say goodbye.”

“NO FUN – NOT WORTH IT!!

A purported suicide note from Jeffrey Epstein unsealed by a federal judge. The document is unverified and undated but was placed on the court docket in the case of a former Epstein cellmate who said he had found the note.

US District Court Southern District of New York

District Judge Kenneth Karas of the Southern District of New York ordered the release of the note following a request from The New York Times.

The note’s unsealing comes amid ongoing interest in the so-called Epstein files, his death by suicide in 2019 and federal investigations into his activities. The Justice Department released millions of documents related to Epstein after Congress passed a transparency bill last fall.

In a court filing, the Justice Department indicated it did not know if the purported note is legitimate.

“There appears to be a strong public interest in the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death as described in the unsealing motion,” the department said.

CNN has reached out to DOJ for comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

格里尔说，特朗普下周与习近平会晤时，将讨论中国持续从伊朗购买石油的问题。图为习特两人去年在韩国釜山会面。 （路透社档案照）

美国贸易代表格里尔说，总统特朗普下周与中国国家主席习近平会晤时，将讨论中国持续从伊朗购买石油的问题。

据彭博社报道，格里尔星期三（5月6日）接受彭博电视采访时说：“我们不希望此事破坏双方的整体关系，或影响北京会晤达成的任何协议，但这确实是可能出现的问题。”

特朗普政府一直批评中国通过能源采购为伊朗提供资金支持，并警告各银行，若支持购买伊朗原油的中国炼油企业，可能面临二级制裁风险。华盛顿正加大力度切断伊朗石油出口这一关键资金来源。

格里尔说：“伊朗是全球头号恐怖主义赞助国，任何从伊朗购买石油的人都在为此做贡献。”

特朗普与习近平预计下星期四和五（5月14日至15日）在北京会晤。特朗普星期二（5日）在白宫告诉记者，双方届时会讨论伊朗战争问题，而习近平在这个问题上“一直非常友好”。

延伸阅读

特朗普：将与习近平讨论伊朗战争 中方不会挑战美方 中伊外长会谈王毅促全面止战 学者指北京为“减震器”防止美伊误判

另一方面，伊朗外长阿拉格齐星期三访华，在与中国外交部长王毅会面时表示，期待北京继续在促和止战方面发挥积极作用；他也在会后强调，伊朗还在等待“公平且全面的协议”。

中国将启动“地星三号”卧床实验 为长期载人太空飞行提供支持

2026年5月7日 07:37 / 联合早报

中国将启动“地星三号”卧床实验，为长期载人太空飞行提供支持。图为4月16日拍摄的神舟二十一号乘组航天员武飞（左）与张陆准备出舱的画面。 （新华社）

中国航天员科研训练中心星期三（5月6日）发布“地星三号”卧床实验志愿者招募信息，并计划今年内在北京启动卧床实验，为中国长期载人太空飞行提供技术支持。

据中新社报道，卧床实验是开展航天医学研究、探究低变重力生理效应、验证防护效果的重要研究手段。中国航天员科研训练中心曾组织开展15天、60天、90天卧床实验，具备丰富的卧床实验开展经验。

此次实验，志愿者将随机分为对照组和锻炼组，根据不同分组，卧床总时长约为15天或30天，根据实验进展可能适当延长，最长不超过60天。

卧床期间，志愿者全程在头低位6度或头高位卧床状态下，完成用餐、洗漱、睡眠、排尿便等日常活动，以及相关测试等，其中锻炼组每天按照程序开展锻炼。

头低位卧床是通过保持卧位姿势来模拟航天失重生理效应，人体的体液会向头和胸部转移，并且腿部骨骼肌肉相应减少了活动和刺激，这与航天员因失重出现的身体变化很接近。

卧床实验可用于研究太空失重对心血管功能、骨密度和肌肉的影响等航天医学问题，获得长期失重环境对人体影响的数据，并验证失重防护措施的有效性。

Michaelson asks CA governor candidates about healthcare

5:24 PM EDT, Wed May 6, 2026 / CNN

By Elex Michaelson, CNN

Michaelson asks CA governor candidates about healthcare

During the CNN California Governor Primary Debate, moderated by Elex Michaelson and Kaitlan Collins, candidates were asked about healthcare, among other topics pertinent to California. The top two vote-getters will advance in the June 2 nonpartisan primary.

17:58 • Source: CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/06/politics/video/healthcare-cnn-california-governor-primary-debate-elex-michaelson-kaitlan-collins

Judge denies Fulton County’s request to return 2020 ballots seized by FBI

2026-05-06T18:52:00-0400 / CBS News

By

Jacob Rosen Justice Department Reporter
Jake Rosen is a reporter covering the Department of Justice. He was previously a campaign digital reporter covering President Trump’s 2024 campaign and also served as an associate producer for “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

Read Full Bio

Updated on: May 6, 2026 / 7:26 PM EDT / CBS News

Add CBS News on Google

A federal judge in Georgia denied a motion by officials in Fulton County, Georgia, to return ballots and other materials from the 2020 election that were taken by the FBI in a court-authorized search earlier this year.

U.S. District Judge Jean-Paul Boulee said Wednesday that attorneys representing Fulton County did not establish enough evidence to prove that the FBI affidavit at the center of the case was deficient in a way that had a “callous disregard” for the county’s rights.

Boulee, however, said that the affidavit was “defective in some respects” by including misleading statements about the final ballot count in 2020 in the county, and that there were “troubling” omissions about ballot mechanisms in the documents.

“While the Affidavit was certainly far from perfect, this is not a situation where an officer left out all the facts that might undermine probable cause or where an officer intentionally lied,” Boulee wrote, adding, “the Court cannot say that the Affidavit was so deficient that its shortcomings rise to the ‘high[] threshold’ of callous disregard.”

Boulee’s decision comes more than two months after FBI agents executed a search warrant at a Fulton County elections office, seeking to take “all physical ballots” from 2020, as well as tapes from vote-tabulating machines, ballot images and voter rolls. Home to Atlanta, deep-blue Fulton County was crucial to former President Joe Biden’s narrow 2020 win in Georgia, and Mr. Trump and his allies have long alleged — without evidence — that the county was awash with fraud.

In a 68-page ruling, Boulee acknowledged that “the seizure in this case was certainly not perfect,” and said “the events leading up to this case are, in a variety of ways, unprecedented.” But he wrote that he needs to apply the legal precedents around court-ordered seizures evenly.

The judge rejected Fulton County’s argument that the FBI’s seizure of the ballots was a violation of the county’s 10th Amendment rights to administer elections. He also rejected an argument that the warrant was obtained “in bad faith” after the Justice Department faced pushback in a separate civil legal proceeding surrounding the documents.

“Petitioners have not shown that their rights were callously disregarded either through supposed defects in the warrant or through the manner in which the warrant was executed,” Boulee wrote. He added that the county’s evidence of irreparable harm if the election materials are not returned was “unpersuasive.”

Attorneys for Fulton County and spokespeople for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Fulton County filed a lawsuit earlier this year asking for the seized materials to be returned and for an order instructing the government “to maintain, but not review, any copies of the seized materials until this matter is resolved.” It argued the search “callously disregards multiple Fourth Amendment rights” of the county and was a “gross intrusion” into the state’s role in elections.

According to a controversial FBI affidavit at the center of the search, the bureau is investigating potential violations of two federal laws.

One of those laws makes it a crime for elections officials to intimidate voters and to deprive them of a fair election by submitting fraudulent ballots or voter registration applications. The other law requires election officials to retain federal election records for 22 months.

Abbe Lowell, an attorney representing the county, argued that the statute of limitations on both potential violations expired. Boulee, however, rejected that argument.

While the election was more than five years ago, Boulee wrote, “the Court cannot ignore” witness testimony included in the affidavit that alleges ballot images in the county’s possession may have been modified as recently as 2024.

At a contentious hearing in March, Lowell argued “there’s nothing” in an FBI affidavit backing the search warrant “to support that there’s an ongoing investigation that matters” in Fulton County. He did warn, however, that the ballots may be used “for some future crime that may not exist.”

Lowell argued that “a number of things were omitted” from the affidavit at the heart of the search regarding the election and alleged misconduct by the county. A witness for Fulton County, elections expert Ryan Macias, testified that “information in the affidavit does not make sense.”

Macias said there was “incoherent terminology” in the affidavit, and testified the agent and FBI “conflate certain things.” He told the court that the election “has already been looked at and investigated,” and the affidavit had just recycled debunked rumors from over six years ago.

During the hearing, Boulee said of the Justice Department’s defense of the seizure of more than 630 boxes of election material, “that piece bothers me” a “rather considerable” amount.

“How far does that affidavit have to go?” Boulee asked Justice Department attorney Tysen Duva, who led arguments for the federal government.

Duva dismissed Lowell’s arguments as “woefully inadequate” and responded to Boulee’s questioning about flaws in the affidavit by saying, “this isn’t grading a paper.”

“Are there places in the affidavit where the agent could have done better? Sure,” Duva said, adding he “may have missed a thing or two.”

Duva also conceded the FBI’s seizure of the ballots may not lead to any charges.

“If there is an indictment, that remains to be seen,” he said. “What may happen later? Maybe nothing.”

State officials in Georgia, including the Republican governor and secretary of state, have defended the integrity of the 2020 election for years, noting that three separate counts confirmed that Biden defeated Mr. Trump in the state. The results in Georgia were at the center of Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, and Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, is a key Democratic stronghold.

The affidavit said the current investigation originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, whom the FBI describes as a “Presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity.” In 2020, Olsen was an attorney who worked with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to urge the Supreme Court to overturn the election results.

The Justice Department revealed more details about the origins of its criminal investigation in a May 1 court filing, after Boulee partially granted a motion by Fulton County officials to compel further information from the Justice Department.

The government told the court that Olsen formally referred the investigation to the FBI “no later than” Jan. 5, the FBI opened an “assessment” the next day and an FBI official in Atlanta approved a full investigation about a week later. An investigative summary was converted into a search warrant affidavit beginning on Jan. 22.

Lowell said at the March hearing that one of the witnesses cited by the government in the affidavit has a criminal record. He also brought up two incidents of court sanctions against Olsen and argued about half of the witnesses would be categorized as “election deniers.”

In 2022, Olsen was subpoenaed by the House Jan. 6 Committee, which was investigating the aftermath of the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The subpoena alleged that Olsen “contacted various high-level officials at the Department of Justice” at the president’s direction to discuss filing challenges to the election results. The committee said Olsen had multiple phone calls with Mr. Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.

Separately, earlier this month Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections officials asked a federal judge in Georgia to quash a grand jury subpoena from the Justice Department that seeks information on thousands of people who helped run the 2020 election in the county.

The subpoena, issued in April, was issued by federal prosecutors in the Middle District of North Carolina. It seeks personal information — including names, addresses and phone numbers — for election workers and volunteers who worked the 2020 election in the county, with jobs ranging from people who drove the voting units to election volunteers and ballot reviewers.

特朗普：美伊很有可能达成协议

2026年5月7日 06:56 / 联合早报

特朗普：美伊很有可能达成协议

美国总统特朗普（中）星期三在白宫告诉记者，伊朗现在迫切想要达成协议，他同时强，伊朗绝不能拥有核武器。 （路透社）

美国总统特朗普周三说，美国和伊朗过去24小时进行了“非常富有成效”的对话，“很有可能”最终会达成协议。

综合路透社和新华社报道，特朗普星期三（5月6日）在白宫告诉记者，伊朗现在“迫切想要达成协议”，如果真能达成，那伊朗绝不能拥有核武器。他称伊朗已对此表示同意。“我们正在与非常希望达成协议的人打交道，我们将看看他们能否达成一项令我们满意的协议。”

特朗普还说，谈判目前进展顺利，美国要争取应得的利益，但如果无法如愿，就不得不采取更进一步的强硬措施。

当记者追问伊朗就美方最新提议给出答复是否有最后期限，特朗普答说：“没有最后期限。”

周三较早时，特朗普接受美国公共广播公司新闻电话采访时说，美伊双方有可能下周达成协议以结束这场战事。

被问及可能达成的协议是否包括伊朗将其高丰度浓缩铀转运出境或许运往美国时，特朗普说：“不是‘或许’，它会被运往美国。”

伊朗：未回应美国对伊方14点提议看法

不过伊朗外交部发言人巴加埃强调，针对美国对伊朗14点提议的看法，伊朗尚未向斡旋方巴基斯坦回复伊方意见。

伊朗广播电视台周三报道称，巴加埃对部分媒体的相关内容和猜测予以驳斥。他说，伊朗和美国经由巴基斯坦进行信息传递，目前正对已交换的文本进行审议。

巴加埃早些时候接受伊朗学生通讯社采访时说，伊朗正在审议美国提出的方案和提议，总结后将向巴基斯坦方面转达伊朗的意见。

Indiana Republican says he doesn’t regret defying Trump after losing his election

2026-05-06T22:59:50.704Z / CNN Politics

Indiana Republican says he doesn’t regret defying Trump after losing his election

The Lead

Greg Walker, a Republican in the Indiana State Senate, joins The Lead.
1:25 • Source: CNN

DOJ dangles massive signing bonuses for lawyers ready to fight ‘lawless’ cities far beyond DC

May 6, 2026 6:00pm EDT / Fox News

Officials say departures via ‘fork in the road’ resignations let DOJ hire staff who ‘wholeheartedly believe in the work’

By Ashley Oliver Fox News

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

The Department of Justice is offering signing bonuses of up to $25,000 to recruit lawyers across the country to bolster legal battles against what one department official described as “lawless jurisdictions.”

New job postings show the high-dollar bonuses are being offered through the DOJ Civil Division components that handle immigration lawsuits and investigations into transgender medical treatments, two of President Donald Trump’s most contentious priorities, and highlight New York City, Raleigh, San Francisco and Dallas.

The hiring push comes as the Civil Division, the DOJ’s most expansive division led by Brett Shumate, continues the resource-intensive task of defending White House policies in court as it faces hundreds of lawsuits, while also drawing scrutiny for employee departures and reported recruiting challenges.

The new recruitment strategy puts a spotlight on the pressure DOJ is facing to sustain its aggressive legal defense strategy, particularly in blue cities and states that it has accused of undermining federal authority, while also combating narratives that the department is struggling to retain staff.

TRUMP ADMIN UNLEASHES CRUCIAL RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN WITH MASSIVE BONUSES TO BOLSTER ICE RANKS

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks at a White House news conference with President Donald Trump on recent Supreme Court rulings in Washington, D.C., June 27, 2025.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A DOJ official told Fox News Digital the hiring effort is not reflective of any internal strain but rather a way for the department to “look broader by enticing attorneys around the country who may not have considered” working for a D.C.-based federal agency.

“The department is expanding resources across the country to combat lawless jurisdictions and nationwide injunctions, and there is a need to attract candidates from those new areas,” the official said, touting that Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act gave the DOJ “millions of dollars to hire more attorneys specifically for those efforts.”

The offers come as blue states, civil rights groups and Democrats flood courts across the country with lawsuits challenging Trump’s efforts to shrink and unify the executive branch, crack down on illegal immigration, implement tariffs and tighten policies surrounding election security and transgender people and more. Lower court judges have often stymied the administration’s work.

The DOJ has chosen on rare occasions to raise the adverse rulings on an emergency basis with the conservative-leaning Supreme Court and won some two dozen cases — which represents a vast majority of the cases — when taking that route.

JUDGES V TRUMP: HERE ARE THE KEY COURT BATTLES HALTING THE WHITE HOUSE AGENDA

The facade of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., in October 2024.(Valerie Plesch/picture alliance via Getty Images)

The Civil Division, which is in charge of defending the civil lawsuits against the administration, has also been offering incentives to current lawyers, according to Bloomberg Law. The outlet said the division was offering new biweekly bonuses up to $220 through Thanksgiving because lawyers “keep fleeing” and because the division was “growing more desperate to stave off further departures of valuable legal minds” who are uncomfortable with Trump’s priorities.

The DOJ official addressed concerns about an employee exodus in a statement to Fox News Digital, after The Financial Times also reported that more than a quarter of its nearly 13,000 lawyers have quit or been fired since the beginning of last year.

JUDGE RESTORES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S BUYOUT OFFER TO FEDERAL WORKERS

U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate speaks during the investiture ceremony for U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on April 13, 2018.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The official attributed the departures, in part, to employees taking a “fork in the road” resignation option, which the Trump administration rolled out last year with the stated goal of reducing the size of government.

“This has allowed DOJ to run more efficiently and hire new employees who wholeheartedly believe in the work they’re doing,” the official told Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Assistant Attorney General Shumate told Fox News Digital in a statement he was “always looking for talented and qualified attorneys to advance President Trump’s priorities and protect the American people.”

“The Civil Division will continue to hire hardworking patriots from across the country and offer appreciation bonuses to our loyal attorneys who remain committed to our mission and upholding the rule of law,” Shumate said.

Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6394458400112